Posted by
Jeff S on Sunday, April 26, 2009 12:19:23 AM
When is it that we've had such a plain target in sight? When has it been that something has come up that is so simply incredulous that no matter your political persuasion, most will look at it and say to themselves; "Not really".
Ms. Napalitano has done just that. I generally veer from broad stroke rhetoric but the DHS Right Wing Extremism report is nine pages of stupid. If you haven't had the chance to actually read the document, please take a moment to peruse this document. If it weren't wrapped in a pretty little cover with official insignias and all, I'd assume it to be a periphrastically aimless work of a misled college freshman. It's just that bad. Granted, it has its genesis in the Bush administration but it wasn't until very recently that it's contents were widely distributed.
As noted by others, it lacks specificity. Well, they did mention Timothy McVeigh. I guess that was a detail not to be missed. You know, the one guy that did something bad in the name of a misguided belief of rightward dogma. So I guess I must acquiesce to this one single example.
To be clear, right wing extremism is an anathema to the American way of life and broadly to mankind. Key to this isextremism. That is to say that extremism by itself is a bad thing irrespective of the ideal it purports to represent.
That's really not the point of the report. It is a focus on the right.
Therein lies the beauty of this report. It's such an utter piece if garbage that it's really made itself in to a small barrel filled with a school of fish. In both an attempt to paint the right as racists and radical, the first item listed in the reports 'Key Findings' starts with this gem:
"Threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups during 2009 have been largely rhetorical and have not indicated plans to carry out violent acts." (pg 2)
If the report is regarding domestic terrorism, shouldn't violence be in the cards somewhere?
That, my friends, was the start of the report. It just doesn't get any better after that. Yet, I wanted to draw out a really nice subtext to this report; that it states no less 4 times that the election of an African American President would be a catalyst for the suggested resurgence of 'right wing extremism'. Thank you again, Left, for painting conservative 'righties' as racists. Neat. It's that doctrinal dog whistle that only the motivated left seems to hear despite an excruciating amount of evidence that the Republican party or conservatives at large have never really been tolerant of racism. I can at least speak on behalf of the non-extremists, that is.
In light of this being release on the advent of the TEA Parties, I found the below inset from the report interesting:
"According to a 2007 study from the German Institute for Economic Research, there appears to be a strong association between a parent’s unemployment status and the formation of rightwing extremist beliefs in their children—specifically xenophobia and antidemocratic ideals." (pg 4)
Well, in addition to the repeated call of racism of righties, I thought is was terribly odd that the statement ended with reference to antidemocratic ideals.
What?
In addition to it quoting a German study, (...and couldn't we maybe assert that there might be historical and cultural differences between Germans and Americans so as to render quoting such a report as usless in its presented context?) had the authors of this report not ever noticed that we on the right keep on pushing this liberty deal? That self same right that currently fears a slide to socialism.
More to the point; that self same right that finds such things as the Employee Free Choice Act a usurpation of privacy and voting rights?
Indeed, a shoddy report.
So, why is this a gift? Whenever anyone hands you a document loaded with dumb, it has to be a gift. It has to be an opportunity to point out the near fervor with which the now exposed and very left Obama administration is going to lean and that such things make an overall centrist nation just a mite uncomfortable.
I am happy that some press has made a little milage out of it. I think however, it needs to be a reference point wherein we point to a very real attempt to muzzle the right and do what was errantly suggested during the Bush administration, that people will be considered suspicious simply because of what they believe and not by any action.
This document should be a touchstone to us for what is really wrong in the left and what should galvanize us on the right. It's what we should point to for the nation at large to understand about the real left.
Without Janet's releasing of the DHC Reports, we'd have no evidence. That is the gift.